The present disclosure is related to subterranean formation operations and, more particularly, to subterranean formation operations including a multi-functional epoxy resin.
Hydrocarbon-producing wells (e.g., vertical, deviated, and horizontal wells in a subterranean formation) are generally drilled using a drilling fluid pumped down a drill string and through a drill bit attached to the end of the drill string. The drilling fluid serves, among other things, to lubricate and cool the cutting surfaces of the drill bit, transport drill cuttings to the surface, control formation pressure, and maintain well stability. After drilling is complete, a casing string may be placed in the wellbore through which hydrocarbons will eventually flow. An annulus is formed between the casing string and the face of the wellbore, which may be partially or fully filled with cement in order to hold the casing string in place. In some applications, cementing of the annulus is not necessary and the casing string may be entirely uncemented, if included at all.
The process of drilling and/or stimulating a subterranean formation often creates unconsolidated particulates, such as from the natural abrasion of the formation itself and from any proppant not confined to a fracture (i.e., naturally occurring, placed during an operation, or created during an operation). These unconsolidated particulates may undesirably migrate within the formation. As used herein, the term “unconsolidated particulates” refers to any loose or loosely bonded particulates that may move through the formation with wellbore fluids (e.g., production fluids). Unconsolidated particulates may include, for example, sand, gravel, other particulates (e.g., proppant particulates), and/or formation fines.
The unconsolidated particulates may migrate out of the subterranean formation and be produced with production fluids. The presence of unconsolidated particulates in a formation during production is undesirable at least because they may damage or abrade producing equipment or reduce well production. For example, unconsolidated particulates may migrate into wellbore casings, perforations, or the interstitial spaces between packed proppants within a fracture and clog or hinder well production.
One method of controlling unconsolidated particulates is to treat the wellbore with a consolidating agent. In such treatments, a consolidating agent is placed into the wellbore in order to stabilize unconsolidated particulates, such as by contacting unconsolidated particulates and curing into a hardened mass. Typically, the consolidating agent may be used to lock unconsolidated particulates in place and form at least a partially immobilized substance, which may be accomplished by enhancing grain-to-grain or grain-to-formation contact of the unconsolidated particulates.
Long wellbores, including long deviated (e.g., horizontal or otherwise angled from vertical) are increasingly used to facilitate recovery of oil from very large reservoirs using only a single wellbore. Such long wellbores are often variable in multiple properties including, permeability, mineralogy, and the like. Due to such variability, consolidation of long wellbores may be difficult. For example, long interval wellbores having variable permeability may result in a treatment fluid including a consolidation agent to flow into regions of high permeability, leaving the low permeability regions untreated or unsatisfactorily treated. Mechanical isolation techniques may be employed to correct, at least partially, for the varying permeabilities. Such mechanical isolation techniques are often costly and time consuming.